Audit Splits U.S. and U.N.

Inquiry Centers
On $20 Billion Account
For Projects in Iraq

Probes of how Iraq's former governing authority distributed billions of dollars for reconstruction and other projects are stoking new friction between the U.S. and the United Nations.

Almost since it handed authority over to Iraqis and disbanded in June, the Coalition Provisional Authority has come under fire for the way it handled a $20 billion account intended for payroll and finance projects. In July, the CPA's inspector general prepared a draft report saying the CPA had failed to document $8.8 billion in this spending,...